Index directory



Feb. 9, 1943.-

S. WlDDER EI'AL INDEX DIRECTORY Filed Oct. 10, 1942 m m I a I 0 a M I ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 9, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE INDEX DIRECTORY Application October 10, 1942, Serial No. 461,616

Claims.

This invention relates generally to book construction and is more particularly directed to improvements in so-called index books, as employed for listing telephone addresses, engagements and other data for ready reference purposes in the home and. elsewhere.

Up to the present time, index books have been formed by mounting a series of leaves of varying size on the backbone of a book shell or by applying sheets or leaves of the same width to the respective covers of the shell, with the result, in the first instance, that very little spread or spacing of the leaves has been attained, while in the second case, an objectionable gap is formed in the zone of the backbone of the book. To overcome the disadvantages of both of these types of index books, we have applied to a conventional book shell, a so-called leaf unit, incorporating a backing element of flexible material upon which are hinged in laterally spaced relationship transversely of such element, a series of leaves or sheets of a uniform width, the backing element being attached to the cover sections of the shell in a manner to permit of free movement of a central or intermediate section of the backing element relative to the supporting surfaces thereof, by virtue of its inherent resiliency, in the bending or flattening phases thereof, in juxtaposition to and in conformity with the movement of the normally flexible backbone of the shell.

Broadly, it is the object of this invention to provide an index book wherein a series of leaves or sheets, each bearing identifying indicia, are mounted on a flexible backing element or member, adhesively or otherwise attached to the inner surfaces of the opposite cover sections of a book shell or base.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a simple and efficient means of securing the leaves of a book, as aforesaid, to a flexible backing element or member adapted to be fixed to the opposite cover sections of a book shell, for relative hinged movement in laterally spaced relation.

Another important object of this invention is to provide a leaf unit for a book construction comprising a flexible backing element or member to which a series of leaves are hinged for relative movement in laterally spaced relation, the backing element being attachable to the opposite inner surfaces of the cover sections of a book shell or base, in a manner whereby a portion of the backing element between its areas of attachment to the opposite cover sections will be capable of freely flexing independently of the portions of the shell which it overlies in the opening and closing of the book, in juxtaposition to and in conformance with the movements of such shell portions.

Other objects and advantages flowing from the practicing of our invention will become manifest as the description proceeds.

In the accompanying drawing, we have shown a preferred embodiment of our invention, as it may be employed in the production of an index book embodying a serie of leaves of a uniform width, each bearing indicia appropriate to a speciflc purpose or use. It will be understood, however, that our invention may be employed in other book constructions and that changes in the mode of assembly may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of our invention, as defined by the appended claims.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a plan view of an open index book conforming to our invention, portions of the leaves being broken away to disclose their attachment to the flexible backing element of the leaf unit.

Figure 2 is an end elevation of the book shown in the preceding figure.

Figure 3 is an end elevation of the book in closed condition.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, in which like characters of reference are employed to designate similar Parts in the several views,

the book shell comprises the usual front and back cover sections 1 and 8, and the intermediate flexible backbone 9 whereby the sections are connected for relative hinge movement on the lines 9a, 9b.

The leaf unit, as we shall term the plurality of leaves and the means whereby they are connected to the shell for relative movement, in the practicing of our invention, includes an oblong sheet of flexible material, indicatedat III, which forms the backing element of the unit and is adapted to be superimposed upon the inner surface of the shell of the book, to span the backbone 9 thereof, and overlie portions of the two cover sections 1 and 8, with its opposite end edges spaced inwardly of the top and bottom edges of the shell and its sides parallel to and spaced inwardly of the free longitudinal edges of the book cover sections, as at Illa. and 1b, in the manner hereinafter described.

A series of leaves of the same width are mounted on the aforesaid backing element ill for relative hinged movement on parallel hinge lines disposed longitudinally of said backing element and terminating inwardly of the top and bottom edges thereof, for independent arcuate movement, as will be explained.

In the present showing, the means whereby the leaves are hinged to the flexible backing element I comprise strips of flexible material, as linen, muslin or the like, which are creased longitudinally, as at II, to form a hinge line which divides the strip into two sections of unequal width. The wider or anchoring section I2 of each of the strips is adhesively secured to the surface of the backing element III while the narrower portion I3 is similarly united to the surface of a leaf I4, with the longitudinal edge of the leaf adjacent and parallel to the hinge line II of the strip. In assembling the series of leaves upon the flexible backing element I0, the wider section I2 of the first applied leaf-hinging strip is superimposed upon the backing element in its entirety and adhesively secured thereto throughout the area of contact of the opposed surfaces of the backing element and strip section, at a point inwardly of one of the longitudinal or side edges of said element, the leaf I4 being cemented to the narrow portion I3 of the strip in engagement with the surface thereof disposed towards the adjacent edge of the backing element.

The wider section I2 of the next applied strip is superimposed upon the surface of the backing element- ID with its hinge line II overlying the anchoring section I2 of the first strip, in appropriately spaced relation to the hinge line II of such first strip. The portion of the anchoring section I2 of the second strip, that is thus located in superimposed relation to the anchoring section I2 of the first applied strip, is cemented thereto, while the portion of said second stripanchoring section, which overlies the backing element, is likewise bonded therewith by an adhesive agent. Since the hinge line I I of the first and second applied strips a and b are relatively spaced, it must follow that the longitudinal edges of the adjacent leaves I4, secured to the free portions I3 of said two strips a and b, will be laterally spaced, the spacing being predetermined by the width of the strip-anchoring section I2 and the make-up of the book, as well as the specific purpose for which it is intended.

Following the hinge connection of the second strip 17 to the backing element ID, as described, the remainder of the leaves I4 are hinged to said element, with their respective attaching strips secured in superimposed engagement with the backing element and the anchoring section I2 of the previously applied strip, until the requisite number of leaves has been provided, the attached edge of the anchoring section I2 of the last applied strip 0 being disposed in spaced relation to the adjacent longitudinal edge of the backing element, remote from the edge thereof from which the first applied strip a is similarly spaced.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the series of leaves I4 of the leaf unit are hinged to the backing element ID in laterally spaced relation for independent movement on the hinge lines defined by the creases or folds in the anchoring strips to which they are attached.

The backing element I0 of the leaf unit, as will be seen from Figure 2, is superimposed upon the inner surfaces of the cover sections I and 8 of the book shell, with its longitudinal edges Illa, IIlb disposed approximately midway between the outer edges of the respective cover sections and their hinge lines 9a, 9b, the backing element being united to the cover sections by a suitable adhesive, throughout its overlying area, that portion of the backing element which spans the backbone 9 of the shell, as defined by the aforesaid hinge lines 9a, 91), having no bond therewith so as to provide for relative movement of the backbone 9 and the intermediate or backbone-bridging portion Illc of said backing element I0.

As will be clearly seen from Figure 2, since the leaves I4 are of a uniform width, when the book is opened, the free edges of the leaves will be staggered, so that suitable indicia, imprinted on the marginal portions of the respective leaves, will be visible when the book is open, irrespective of the relative disposition of the leaves to one side or the other of the center line of the shell.

It will be apparent that the absence of a bond between the intermediate portion Iflc of the backing element I0 and the backbone 9 of the shell, which such intermediate portion spans, will admit of the independent flexure of both the backbone and said intermediate .portion Iflc of the backing element in the hinged movement of the leaves, when the book is open and in the movement of one or the other cover sections 7 and 8, or both, on their respective hinge lines 9a, 9b, it being manifest that the intermediate portion Inc of the backing element I0 will be freely movable in juxtaposition to and in conformity with the movement of the normally flexible backbone. Also, the flexibility of the backing element I0, in its backbone-spanning zone Iflc, permits the leaves, when the book is opened, to assume a substantially flat position, irrespective of the posi tion or leaf station at which the book may be opened. Thus, the leaf which it may be desired to observe will not have to be held in position, as is necessary in the conventional book structure, especially when the book is open with the major portion of the leaves disposed to one or another side of the center line of the usual leaf-backing strip to which the attaching edges of the leaves are directly fixed in massed and abutting association. The inherent flexibility of the leaf-hinging strips, as adhesively superimposed upon the backing element, obviously contributes to the functioning of the intermediate portion I00 of the backing element, as described, and to the stability and durability of the leaf unit and of the book as a whole.

When the backing strip II] has been fixed to the cover sections 1 and 8 of the shell as described, a lining material or inner facing I5 may be superimposed upon the inside surfaces of the cover sections to overlie the exposed portions of the backing element ID, as indicated at I511 and, at the option of the book manufacturer, this facing material may be extended to overlie the adjacent section [2 of the adjacent leaf-anchoring strip, to be provided with a crease to conform to the hinge line of such strip and extend over the narrow portion I3 of the anchoring strip bonded to the leaf, it being obvious that the facing is cemented to these surfaces upon which it is superimposed to impart a clean and finished appearance to the completed book.

While I have described a specific mode of assembly of the leaves upon the backing element and of affixing the leaf unit to the book shell, this has been for illustrative purposes only, since the sequence of the steps of attaching the leaves to the backing element and mounting the leaf unit in the book shell for independent movement of the intermediate portion I00 thereof, may be varied to suit production or other requirements. It will also be understood that the transverse area of the free zone Inc of the backing element may be increased or diminished, as may be found necessary or desirable, in proportion to the change in the area of the portions of said element which are adhesively secured to the opposite cover sections 1 and 8.

We claim:

1. In an index book, a frame comprising substantially rigid covers connected to a flexible backbone and a flexible backing member having attached thereto for movement about an axis parallel to the backbone, a series of leaves of the same width, said flexible backing being connected only at its end portions to the respective covers whereby the intermediate portion thereof remains in unattached juxtaposition with the flexible backbone, said leaves being disposed in laterally spaced relationship across the backbone and the portions of the covers adjacent to said backbone.

2. An index book embodying a shell comprising substantially rigid covers connected by a flexible backbone for relative hinged movement and a leaf unit including a flexible leaf-supporting element and a series of leaves hinged thereto for movement about an axis parallel to the'backbone, said leaf-supporting element being connected only to the opposite covers of said book shell to provide a section intermediate the portions thereof connected to said covers and in unattached juxtaposition with the backbone capable of flexing in the opening and closing of the book relative to the backbone, said leaves being disposed in laterally spaced relationship across the backbone and the portions of the covers adjacent to said backbone.

3. An index book embodying a shell comprising substantially rigid cover sections connected by a flexible backbone for relative hinged movement and a leaf unit, including a flexible leafsupporting element, a series of leaves and normally independent means for attaching each leaf to said supporting element for relative hinged movement about an axis parallel to the backbone, said leaf supporting element being connected only to the opposite cover sections of the shell on either side of an intermediate section spanning the backbone thereof, whereby such backbone-spanning section of said element will be free to flex relatively to said backbone in the opening and closing of the book and conform substantially to the contour thereof, when the book is closed, said leaves being disposed in laterally spaced relationship across the backbone and the portions of the covers adjacent to said backbone.

4. An index book embodying a shell comprising substantially rigid cover sections connected by a flexible backbone for relative hinged movement and a leaf unit, including a flexible leafsupporting element, a series of leaves and normally independent means for attaching each leaf to said supporting element for relative hinged movement about an axis parallel to the backbone, said leaf-supporting element being connected only to the opposite cover sections of the shell in zones spaced from said backbone, whereby the section of said supporting element overlying the backbone of said shell will be freely movable in juxtaposition thereto in the opening and closing of the book and conform substantially to the contour of said backbone when the book is closed, said leaves being disposed in laterally spaced relationship across the backbone and the portions of the covers adjacent to said backbone.

5. An index book embodying a shell comprising substantially rigid cover sections connected by a flexible backbone for relative hinged movement and a leaf unit, including a flexible leafsupporting element, a series of leaves of uniform width and normally independent means for attaching the respective leaves to said supporting element for relative hinged movement about an axis parallel to the backbone, said leaf-supporting element being adhesively secured to the opposite cover sections of said shell in zones oppositely spaced from said backbone, to permit of free movement of that portion of said supporting element overlying said backbone relative thereto and in conformity with the movements of the backbone in the opening and closing of the book, said leaves being disposed in laterally spaced relationship across the backbone and. the portions of the covers adjacent to said backbone and said leaf-hinging means functioning to dispose the leaves with their associated marginal portions in staggered relation, when the book is opened.

SAMUEL WIDDER. IRVING W'EINGER. 

